NEAL KNOX REPORT May 5 Update --
The Minnesota Gun Owners Civil Rights Alliance (GOCRA) just took exclusive ownership of the corporate names of the two biggest anti-gun groups in the state: Citizens for a Safer Minnesota and
Citizens for a Safer Minnesota Education Fund.
Not only are those wonderful names for new organizations that would truly make Minnesota safer -- by enlarging gun rights, not destroying them -- the anti-gunners who spent a lot of time, money and energy
building up those names can no longer use them. Nor can they use signs, stationery or other materials using those names.
That shut down the groups’ operations at a political convention this weekend and promises to give a great deal of grief to the groups, their officers, and their contributors.
Further, anyone who has contributed in the last three years to the IRS 501(c)(3) tax-deductible CSM Education Fund may have to file an amended tax return -- including American For Safe Government Andrew McKelvey and his personal anti-gun group, a heavy contributor to anti-gunners across the
country.
The Minnesota anti-gun organizations had failed to file their annual non-profit corporation registration so their corporations had been automatically dissolved by the Secretary of State's Office. That terminated the existence of their corporate entities and made the business names
available for the taking.
GOCRA took the name of the lobbying organization by incorporating a new subsidiary corporation with the now-available former name of the anti-gun group. That required only a one page fill-in-the-blank form available from the Secretary of State's Office and a $135 filing fee. The form was
downloaded from the SOS web page.
The gun organization also got the name of the anti-gunner's tax-deductible foundation by forming another corporation which they intend to qualify under Internal Revenue Code Sec. 501(c)(3).
While they were at it, the pro-gun group reserved for 12 months other names they thought the anti-gunners might want to adopt (which costs less than incorporating).
The founders of GOCRA, David Gross and Joe Olson, both lawyers, were close friends and allies on the NRA Board until we were purged in the post-Heston era. But they’re very much still in the fight; I attended an meeting with Joe and other grass roots activists last week during the Reno
NRA meetings.
Joe and David discovered this opportunity by visiting the Minnesota
Secretary of State's web site and checking into whether their own corporations and those of the anti-gunners were in good standing. It didn't hurt that Joe is a law professor who specializes in corporate and tax law.
Neither of the anti-gunner's former corporations were in good standing; both were listed as "inactive" for they hadn't filed their annual registration for several years. The Secretary of State's on-line list of
dissolved corporations, which only went back 2 years, showed that the anti-gun lobbying arm had been automatically dissolved 2 weeks ago.

The educational fund appeared to have lapsed even earlier so our guys called up the corporations division at the SOS office and asked. Sure enough, that corporation had been automatically dissolved 3 years ago.
Friday morning GOCRA filed the short-form Articles of Incorporation of two new corporations with those names.
Bang, the names were theirs.
The Minnesota Secretary of State's office routinely sends out pre-printed annual report forms to all corporations, so some anti-gunner dropped the ball. Big time.
As good citizens should do, the IRS was notified that the anti-gunner's tax exempt entity didn't exist and hadn't existed for three years. For those tax years, it owes taxes on all its contributions and on the
grants from HCI, AGS, etc. Its individual and corporate donors who deducted their contributions will have to file amended returns deleting those so-called "charitable" deductions and paying additional taxes.
The anti-gun group compounded their problems by engaging in a neat little trick, as explained on their web site, of taking ALL contributions above their $35 a year dues, automatically shifting the remainder to the
tax-deductible fund, and issuing a tax deduction receipt. If they had only paid as much attention to the filing of their annual forms . . ..
How would your club or organization like to have to notify all of your contributors of this situation? Better check your own organization's status immediately -- although very few gun groups have formed (c)(3) charitable organizations.
The two new pro-gun corporations served the anti-gunners with written demands to cease and desist from using the new corporations' business names on stationary, pamphlets, web sites, etc.
They did this as soon as possible after incorporating. That just happened to be at this weekend's state Democrat-Farmer-Labor Convention. After a while, the anti-gun group packed up their booth and left.
Not bad for 3 days work. My hat's off to Joe and David.
As my friends pointed out in an email: "Most states have non-profit corporations statutes with annual registration reguirements and automatic dissolution after some period. An opportunity like this could exist in any state. Get on the state web page this afternoon (it's on
24/7)."
Can't tell what you might find. Guerrilla warfare can be fun.
Taken from FNFAL files posted by F4GIB.
Dram(I am thrilled to post this)out!

I was going to post this last night but I fell asleep at the keys and didn't wake up till 5:30 this morning, before heading to bed. Man..I hate falling asleep in front of this thing.
I really got a chuckle out of the story when I read it.

Not you typical Elmer Fudd type duck hunter.

To "turn them on" you've got to rub em and talk dirty to them. - pattymcn

BTT
Sorry to keep the bump going... this is too great not to read....!!!!!1
A wonderful dose of all American 2nd amendment shaft to the anti's. May they rot in satans colon for all eternity, no wait, that is what the IRS is going to do to those who gave them money and wrote it off.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.
Dram

How can we check this in NY? I would be more than willing to chip in to buy some names of these anti if there are any in NY we can get. If anyone can find this out and post it we can have a fund raiser to buy them.
BrenLover

Originally Posted By trickshot:
If you consider this a "win" or even relevant in the wider world in any way, I got news for you--it ain't. Calling this a "win" makes me realize just how far lost the battle is.

View Quote

You know what.... you may be right trickshot. But it's still a nice little thorn in their side. It may not be a Supreme Court Affirmed case or anything..... but it may just be enough to make this group in Minnesota give up their fight. Now if we can get a few more small victories like this in a few other states then we're at least heading down the road in the right direction.